Alright guys, we are in Jeremiah 10. We are jumping back into Jeremiah tonight. We took a couple weeks break while Brian was using us as guinea pigs. He was preaching his two messages for when he was going to be preaching over in Georgia. I think that went pretty well. I hope it benefited him to be able to preach in front of us and get some comfort in that text. But we are back in Jeremiah tonight. We're in Jeremiah 10. If you recall, we are at the end of Jeremiah's second message to Judah here in this chapter. Or at least the second so far in this book. It might not be the second in chronology, but as we mentioned, Jeremiah kind of jumps around a little bit, but at least it's the second sermon or second message that we've had in the book so far that Jeremiah's preached to Judah. And again, just to kind of catch us back up a little bit, chapters 7-10 are known They're known as one sermon, but they're known as the temple sermon or the temple discourse. Jeremiah is preaching this sermon at least most of it, at the entrance of the temple. He's there, he was told to go to the temple and preach this message to those so that all could hear what was being said and for a very specific purpose there. He was preaching it during the reign of Jehoiakim. If you remember, Jehoiakim is Josiah's son. He's one of Josiah's sons. And Josiah was the godly king that we began the book in that had brought Judah back to a point of revival. He has died at this point. Both of his sons have taken the throne. Jehoiakim is the second one to take the throne. And very quickly after Josiah's death, both of his sons had led Judah back into idolatry and back into pagan worship. And that's where we're at. That's where Jeremiah is at in this point in his sermon. We've seen so far in this sermon, just chapters 7-10, we've seen Judah corrected and condemned for their reliance on various things. They were corrected and condemned for their reliance on the temple instead of God. They were corrected and condemned for their reliance on the law itself instead of God. They were corrected and condemned for their reliance on pagan gods and idols instead of God. And tonight we wrap this sermon up. Jeremiah will really bring to light the futility and really, pardon me saying this word for the younger kids, but we'll read it here in a minute, but the stupidity of worshipping these idols and the futility of these idols and worshipping these idols. I think that as we've gone through this sermon, we've seen that these problems were not just a Judah problem, though. They're an American problem. And really, even more specifically and more at home, they're a Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in North Port, Alabama problem. At least I hope that we've seen that as we've gone through these chapters and through this sermon. And as we move through the rest of the sermon, Tonight, I pray and I hope that we see the same. I hope that we don't just look at what's being taught to us tonight and see it as a problem that they were facing, but we don't face these type issues or these same problems. We don't struggle with them. And as we move through this sermon, I want to challenge each of us to really see how the worship of idols takes shape in our own lives and how it can take shape in our own lives and take heed to these words and learn from them and not just listen to them. Chapter 10, I'm going to read the first two verses. Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord. Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens, because the nations are dismayed at them. Commentators agree here that God addresses the whole nation. Now I know it says Israel, and we've mentioned as we've gotten into this book that many times, most of the time, when Jeremiah says Israel, he's talking about the ten northern tribes that were taken into captivity probably about a century before this was written. And when he mentions Judah, he's talking about the two southern tribes as the nation was split. But here, most commentators agree he's speaking of the entire nation. All twelve tribes are speaking to them when he says Israel here. And he gives them a warning. He gives them a warning not to be like the other nations. Now this is a common warning throughout the whole Bible really. This is not just here in Jeremiah. It's a common warning that's given throughout. It was the reason God had required Israel to destroy all the nations as they went into the land of Canaan, the promised land, why He told them to rid that land of all these nations, because they were pagan nations, and He knew that if they stayed, if they were left around, that their influence would start to creep into Israel, and at some point it would influence them to start worshiping idols and go into pagan worship, and that's exactly what happened. And really, it's because their failure to do that, why they're at this point now, or one of the major reasons why they're at this point right now, why they have started to be like the other nations, because they were heavily influenced by the nations, by the people that they left around instead of obeying God. These other nations had looked to signs from the heavens to direct them and they worshipped these signs. It's likely Jeremiah here, as he talks about their dismay at the signs of heaven, it's likely he's not specifically talking about just worshipping the sun or worshipping the moon or worshipping stars, although that was part of their worship. He's probably more specific talking about them looking at phenomenon that were to happen in the sky, like shooting star or a comet or an eclipse, anything that wasn't just a normal everyday occurrence. in the heavens or in the skies, these nations would look at those as as things to be dismayed of or to be in awe of or fear. They would maybe even look at them as things to hope in, they would kind of look at them as good signs or just various different ways they would look at these things that would happen. But they would trust in them ultimately, and they would really direct their their lives and it would be part of their worship. It also likely points, Jeremiah's also likely pointing out they're looking to the stars for direction in a lot of the way that modern day astrology takes place today. This is something, again, very common today. I read where even as far back as 1973, there was an estimated 10 million Americans that relied on horoscopes and astrology to guide their lives. They relied on those to really see how they should, handle everyday life and go about their life. And I would imagine, I haven't looked at any new studies on this, but I don't hesitate to say that I would doubt very seriously if that number has not increased drastically. I would imagine that it's far more than 10 million that really rely on horoscopes and things like that to direct their lives. And there are many people that are Christians or that claim the name of Christianity that look at those horoscopes and that are influenced by those horoscopes in their own lives in some various way. Now, this point about not learning the way of the nations is also echoed in the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 14 through 17, you're more than welcome to turn there if you'd like, but In 2 Corinthians 6, verses 14-17, Paul tells the Corinthian church, he says, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them, and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing. Then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. So this is basically the same principle, the same idea echoed in the New Testament, and we're told the same thing, not to be like the other nations or not to be like the world. We are to be careful about who we associate with and who we let influence us. Again, this is not telling us not to be in the world, not to go into the world, and that's our commission, we're to go into the world and we're to make disciples, but who we're spending a lot of our time around, who we are fellowshipping with on a regular basis, that should not, it should be primarily Christian It should be people of God. Because, again, we will be influenced by who we are around and what they do. You would hope it would be the other way around, that we would influence them. And to some extent, I pray that we are, especially in the workplace and friends that we may have that are around us from time to time. But the more we are out in the world and being around just people of the world and unbelievers, the more we will begin to act like them and take on their customs and their traditions and their thoughts and and it will stray us away from the Lord. That's why we're told not to be unequally yoked and exactly why Israel here had been warned and was told here not to learn the way of the nations. Here, as we get into the next few verses, God just shows us how ridiculous it was for Israel to become like the other nations and to put their trust in these idols. I mean, it should be pretty evident just reading through these verses. Verses 3-5 read, For the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold. They fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field and they cannot speak. They have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good." If you want to turn with me real quick to Isaiah, there's a passage of Scripture in Isaiah 44 that really echoes a lot of this and even goes a little bit further in explanation of just how silly this idol worship was and what went into this idol worship. Chapter 44, verse 9, reads, all who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know that they may be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified, they shall be put to shame together. The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry and his strength fails. He drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line. He marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself. He kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also, he makes a god and worships it. He makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat. He roasts it and is satisfied. Also, he warms himself and says, Aha! I am warm, I have seen fire." And the rest of it he makes into a God, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, deliver me for you are my God. That's exactly what Jeremiah is really saying here. This fashioning of cutting down a tree and fashioning it. Isaiah, he brings that even more, to pardon the pun, he whittles it even more down to exactly what they were doing. They were crafting these figures, basically, to look like men, to look like maybe even animals at times, and that became their God. Yet, with part of the wood that they cut this God from, they would use it to build a fire, or they would cook food over it. It's just silly. They would bow down to worship something they crafted in themselves, part of it they used to burn and to eat over. And God is really pointing out the ridiculousness of this in this chapter. Anything that can't keep you from destroying it cannot be God. Jesus was killed, and some might use that as an argument, He was destroyed, but Jesus willingly laid down His life. He willingly went to the cross. He gave it up. And He raised Himself from the dead. These items, these figures, when they're burned, they're burned for good. When they rot, they're rotted for good. That's not the God that we worship. They're decorated here, it talks about they're decorated and they're fastened. They're either hung to a wall, or they're fastened to the floor to keep them from falling. And common sense should just tell you, again, how silly it is to worship such a thing that you have to fasten to keep from falling, or you have to put on a wall to keep from moving. They are like scarecrows, it says. Used to scare away dumb animals, really. That's what scarecrows are for. They're used to scare away dumb animals. They should have no power over an intelligent human being made in the image of God, yet they did. That's exactly what the problem was with these pagan nations. They held much power over them. He goes on and he continues to just speak about how silly and ridiculous these figures are. He says they're incapable of speech. They cannot walk. They have to be carried. Interestingly enough, archeological digs of ancient Babylon show that idols were often They were carried in these religious ceremonies. They were able to derive that from ancient digs. And it goes right along with, again, what was going on here that God's describing. These idols are incapable of doing evil or good. And so here we have people bowing down and worshiping gods that could not comfort because they could not speak. They couldn't relieve them of any burdens because they couldn't walk. In fact, they were burdens themselves because they had to carry them around. And they were not to be feared because they were unable to do bad or good to anyone. That's silly, isn't it? That's just ridiculous. But before we judge, before we throw stones, let's take a look at our own lives. Let's look at our own lives, let's look at the lives of modern day Christianity around us. We might not cut down a tree and fashion it into a god ourselves and decorate it for worship, but how many of us struggle with superstitions? Is it possible that we're ever paralyzed by fear over an outcome of a major event based on maybe where we sit or where we stand or how we hold our feet or something. I've read stories of athletes who wore the same pair of underwear for weeks at a time, because they were on a winning streak or because they were doing well in their, their sport. Like it or not, those are idols in the same way that these are idols. The point that God is making is they were relying on something that they should not rely on, that was dead, that had no power. And any of these superstitions, any of these things that we may rely on as well, these things that we hold to, that hold power over us, that we think may have an influence over any outcome in our lives, we're putting faith in those things just the same. It may not be a visible thing in front of us, but it's still holding power over us. Skipping on to verse 9, because verse 9 really continues to go on to this point that Jeremiah's making. Verse 8 says, they are both stupid and foolish. The instruction of idols is but wood. Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Euphaz. They are the work of the craftsmen and of the hands of the goldsmith. Their clothing is violet and purple. They are all the work of skilled men. Here in verse 8 and 9, Jeremiah really puts the final touches on these idols. He talks about how they've been fashioned really in a majestic way with the silver and gold. They've been clothed with purple and violet clothing to make them look like royalty, to make them look like a king basically. But it's all the work of man. All of it. Exactly what Jeremiah is pointing out. Charles Feinberg states, no human skill can turn wood into an intelligent creature. To that I say amen. Pinocchio is only a movie, guys. That's not real. It can't happen. Israel had struggled with this, really though, from the beginning. I mean, from the beginning of their... even before they became a nation, the promise of being a nation came about. Idolatry was bound up in their heart all the way back to Abraham. Remember, Abraham came out of a pagan nation and pagan worship to know the real, true, living God. But as Israel grew and as they became a nation, they grew in vast numbers under the shadow of the pagan nation of Egypt and their pagan gods. They tried to make God a golden calf at Mount Sinai soon after being led away from Israel. They failed to rid Canaan of its pagan nations and became influenced by them along the way. They worship and trusted in the ark instead of God. We learn about that in Samuel, 1 Samuel. In chapter 7 of this chapter, and I've already touched on this, but they trusted in the temple instead of trusting in God. Their worship was for the temple and their trust was in the temple. It wasn't in God. In chapter 8, we learned how they trusted in the law itself, the fact that they had the word instead of actually in the one who gave the word. Chapter 9, we learn how they trusted in the idols and in the pagan gods that they were surrounded by. And even as you fast forward into the New Testament, into the time of Jesus, they were trusting in their genealogy. They were trusting in circumcision instead of trusting in their Messiah. Idol worship was just bound up in their heart despite being God's chosen nation. That's just who they were as a whole. But let's take this even closer home to ourselves. God's not bound up in anything that we have and that we own. He's not bound up in a cross that we may hold near to our chest on a necklace or on our earrings or on a ring. He's not anything that we put on a wall. He's not bound up in that. He's not swayed by the holding of rosary beads or by the tokens of patron saints that are often worshipped and held on to. And guys, God's Word is eternal and powerful, and we should cherish our Bibles, but the book and the pages that God allowed His Word to be penned on hold zero power in and of themselves. Don't hold your Bible thinking that it will bring some measure of blessing or some measure of judgment. Recognize that the words it contains are living and eternal words from our all-powerful God, an eternal God, And it is His words and Him that we should look at, not the book that holds them which produces life and blessings and judgment. Feinberg again said, once men lose their awareness of God, they do not thereby lose their need of God. So they substitute false worship for true. Idolatry is the result. And again, if we follow along that same path, we start to lose our awareness of God by not being in prayer with Him, by not following the words and seeing them as true, powerful words that are here for us, then we begin to lose our awareness of God and we begin to fashion God into who we want Him to be and into our own idols. We don't lose our need for God, but we begin to substitute Him for false worship. And we replace true worship with false worship and that becomes our idol. These verses show the complete futility of doing this though, the complete futility of worshiping idols. No matter the object or how it's displayed, it's powerless. It's powerless. God is where the power is. And we see that as we look at verses 6 and 7. It says, just to jump back a little bit, There is none like You, O Lord. You are great, and Your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due. For among all the wise ones of the nations and all their kingdoms, there is none like you." Jeremiah points out the vast difference between God and these idols. He points out God is a God of power. He's a God to be feared. He's a King over all nations. He's wise. All these things are things that none of these idols can claim. None of these idols have. but the true and living God does. And then in verse 10, he continues on, he says, but the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting God. At His wrath, the earthquakes and the nations cannot endure His indignation. There's basically a three-fold comparison that Jeremiah brings to our attention between God, the true and living God, and these idols that he's been describing. Idols are false. God is true. He is the God of truth. In Him are no lies. Not only does He not lie, but He is truth, which is the major difference between these idols who are false. Idols are dead. God is living and eternal. That holds true today. Romans 9.26 says that we are children of the living God. 2 Corinthians 3.3 says we have the spirit of the living God. 1 Timothy 3.15 says we meet together as the church of the living God. It should give us confidence and comfort to know that we actually worship a living God, that we don't worship these gods fashioned by hand and that have no power and that are not living. And then idols are powerless. And He has power over all. It says, at His wrath the earth quakes and the nations cannot endure His indignation. Then in verse 11 it says, Thus shall you say to them, The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens. So He says, these gods who you worship, basically He's saying these gods that you worship who didn't make the earth and they didn't make the heavens, they're going to perish. They're going to go away. Again, a major difference he draws in comparison to himself in verses 12 and 13. It says, It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and He brings forth the wind from the storehouses. This is a final comparison in these three verses that Jeremiah really brings home his point, again, in these three verses. These so-called gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish, they will come to an end in every attempt that man has made to try to fix himself or to try to exalt himself, which is ultimately what man is doing every time they fashion an idol, every time they have an idol. They're really trying to exalt themselves instead of humbling themselves before God. It's all failed. It's all perished. If you look even back to the garden itself that we went through just last week, Todd was mentioning the fall and Adam and Eve's attempt to cover themselves with leaves. Those leaves were going to die. They were going to wilt away. That wasn't going to work. It wasn't going to keep them covered. And just like those leaves, every idol, every wooden idol, every material idol that's made, that's fashioned by man, is going to perish. It's going to fade away. Even the sky and the stars and the sun and the moon, everything you see in the heavens that they fell down and they worshipped, all of that will melt away in fervent heat as well one day as God fashions a new heaven and a new earth. All of this is in God's power and will perish away, but not God. Because God made it. God is the creator of it. God is outside of it. And Jeremiah is really hammering home that point here. That's what he's really bringing out. It's just no comparison between these man-made idols and God. He made the earth by His power. He was before all things. But also, by Him all things consist, as Colossians 1.17 says. He's the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Idols must be carried, but God brings the water and makes lightning and commands the wind. There's just no comparison. And God cannot be contained or bound up in any man-made item. He can't be comprehended by the smartest human being. Again, Feinberg says, the living God is not imprisoned in nature as pagan religions hold. Common theme of pagan religions for their gods to be bound up in whatever they control, or the sun god is basically, he's got limits in his power. He's bound up in that sun. The god of certain stars, or the god of the wind, they're all bound up in their elements. They're bound up in what they're supposed to control. They don't have power past that or beyond that, but God is not bound or imprisoned in these things of nature as these pagan gods are. And in this knowledge, Let's read from verse 14. It says, Every man is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion at the time of their punishment. They shall perish. In light of everything that Jeremiah said, every way he's explained these pagan gods, these idols, how they're fashioned and how worthless they are, He basically puts it straight out there. He says everyone basically who worships that and they fall down to those things, they are stupid and without knowledge is exactly what he says. He says every goldsmith is to be put to shame. Even more so, these that fashion them should be put to shame because they're making them. They should know that they have no power. They are fashioning themselves. There's no power contained in them. Then in verse 16, He says, "...not like these is He who is the portion of Jacob. For He is the One who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of hosts is His name." Verse 16 gives us the final comparison between these nations and Israel, basically. God has already said these nations should have known, that just common sense should have told them it was silly to worship these idols. They had no power. They couldn't carry them. They'd carry them around everywhere. They had no power over them. And they should have known just in common sense. But Israel, Israel should know the difference for sure. Because they are the inheritance of the Lord of hosts. It's interesting that they're called, in the beginning of this verse, the portion of Jacob. And then they're referred to later on in the verse as Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. J.M. Riddle notes that Jacob, the use of Jacob there at the beginning, emphasizes that the nation was naturally undeserving of divine blessing. And then the use of Israel later on stresses that they're divinely given position. Basically, the blessing and inheritance had come through God and not of Jacob. It came through God and not of Jacob. It was through His mercy that Israel was chosen and blessed. Yet, despite all that, despite their knowledge of the true and living God, they became like the other nations. And that's what we're about to see as we move into verse 17. Verse 17 says, "...gather up your bundle from the ground, O you who dwell under siege, for thus says the Lord, For behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them that they may feel it." So despite this clear and obvious and really powerful distinction that Jeremiah had given between God and the idols, Judah would still refuse to listen. and would still continue on being as the other nations and worshiping these idols and falling into pagan worship. And in doing so, their judgment was again made sure. Their judgment in the nation of Babylon coming and taking them into captivity. Verses 17-22, it brings us back to that promised judgment through Babylon. has been brought out already, the judgment would be swift and it would be sure. Here it says they would literally be slung out of the land. That's just kind of a description of how quick and how sure it would be they'd be slung out of the land. Jeremiah tells them to be prepared. He basically just says gather up your belongings because judgment is coming. So be prepared. This is what's going to happen. And then in verse 19 and 20, It kind of takes a little bit of a turn. It says, woe is me because of my hurt. My wound is grievous. But I say truly, this is an affliction and I must bear it. My tent is destroyed and all my cords are broken. My children have gone from me and they are not. There is no one to spread my tent again and to set up my curtains. There in verses 19 and 20, Jeremiah, we've talked about how he has identified himself with the nation around him before in prayer. Even though Jeremiah believed in God, he believed in these coming judgments, he was not part of this pagan worship, when he prayed sometimes he still identified himself with the people that he lived in, in the nation of Judah. That's what he's doing here. So much so that it's really hard to be sure whether these words are actually words that Jeremiah felt and are saying himself or whether he's speaking on behalf of the people and stating how they would feel once this judgment came. But this again, these two verses speak of the nature of destruction and judgment that would come out of the nation of Babylon for the nation of Judah because of their idol worship. Verse 21 says, For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord, therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. Verse 21 brings us back to the leadership. This has been, again, one of the common themes in Judah's messages and his sermons. It goes back to the leadership. You know, we cannot escape the responsibility of leadership. It just cannot be escaped. It can't be escaped in this message, it can't be escaped in any of the Bible, really. A godly leader or a godly pastor does not guarantee a godly congregation, but an ungodly leader or an ungodly pastor all but assures false worship. Riddle says an overseer is both a shepherd and a steward. As a shepherd, he is responsible for the flock. As a steward, he is responsible to the Lord. And Israel and Judah's leaders had failed to really answer that call. They were not responsible to the flock as a shepherd, they didn't care about the flock. They didn't care about the flock at all. Again, this is a major problem in Jesus' time. They didn't care about the people. And they certainly didn't care about the Lord. They were responsible to the Lord, but they didn't feel responsible to the Lord. They didn't act responsible to the Lord. The Lord's going to hold them accountable, but that's not how they led. That's not how they discharged their duties. Verse 22. says a voice, a rumor, behold it comes, a great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a layer of jackals." This again just echoes much of what we've seen in the past chapters with a description of the invasion of Babylon. This is just another description of how it will appear and how it will seem as Babylon invades Judah. Then in verses 23 through 25, I think Jeremiah really ends his sermon here He wraps it up with a beautiful portion of Scripture. In verses 23 through 25 it says, I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O Lord, but in justice, not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob. They have devoured him and consumed him and have laid waste his habitation. We've noted before how Jeremiah has been called the crying or weeping prophet, and he's known as the prophet that we know his heart really more than any other prophet because of how he writes. And here we have a great example of that. Here Jeremiah is pleading, he pleads for the nation of Judah. He knows judgment is coming, and he acknowledges that it should, and that God is just in bringing judgment, but he pleads that that judgment is not so harsh that it completely destroys Judah. In the midst of such evil that Jeremiah was a part of, and the departure of Judah from God, and really such personal animosity towards Jeremiah, He still pleads for Judah and for their salvation. That's a great example to us. And I think I mentioned that maybe in our last chapter as part of his prayer, how he pled in that prayer. He wasn't caught up or bound in what happened to him. His heart broke for the nation around him. It broke for the evil going on around them and for the judgment that was to come. And he prayed for them. We have a hard time doing that, I'm afraid, for folks that may hurt us or that may bring evil on us, for lack of better words. We want judgment on them. We want retribution. But we should take Jeremiah's example and we should have a heart for them. He pleads in verse 25 instead for God to turn His destructive wrath towards these nations who have led Israel and Judah astray. In the words of Laodicea... I think that's how you say it. He says, it is a prayer that God might destroy them before they could accomplish their wicked intention to destroy His people, talking about these other nations, these nations who have led Judah astray, Israel astray. We see that this prayer was answered in Jeremiah 30, verse 11, that says, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to save you. Though I make a full end of all nations, whither I scattered you, yet will I not make a full end of you. But I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished." So, God later on in Jeremiah, He answers this prayer, He makes it known that He will answer this prayer. It won't go without punishment. He's going to punish Judah, and this is, again, guaranteed, this is part of this whole sermon. And in the sermon before, we keep on going back to this assured judgment, and we know from history that this took place. God was not going to leave Judah unpunished for their idolatry and for their turning away from Him, but He wouldn't leave them by themselves. He's a God of His Word, He's a God of promise, and He promised not to destroy them entirely, and He makes good on that promise. As we conclude this sermon tonight and this chapter tonight, there's a few things or there were a few things I hope we were able to draw from the passage. I hope and pray that as believers we realize the absurdity or pointlessness to putting our fear or faith in horoscopes or in natural phenomena or even superstitions. I don't think that really many of us probably struggle with the first two, but it's possible we struggle with some superstitions or with some things like that. I know I have at times in my past, I've thought, you know, if I stand right here during a football game, maybe we'll score or something, you know, or we score and I don't want to move. I know I've struggled with that sometimes before. But really, they're all from the same vein. They're all silly idol worship at the core. They're putting our faith in something that has no power. Further, I pray that we don't get caught up in the worship of the creature instead of the Creator. There's a song out right now by Natalie Grant, and the chorus saying, help me want the healer more than the healing. Help me want the Savior more than the saving. Help me want the giver more than the giving. Help me want you, Jesus, more than anything. And really the focus of that is on Christ Himself and our desire for Christ Himself instead of what comes from, flows from Him in blessings and in material wealth and in the giving that we, or in His giving. A.W. Tozer states that the essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. Guys, these are real problems that I think we all struggle with. They really are. God's not bound up in the healing that we receive or in the blessings that we receive. And if we start to make those our gods, we start to entertain thoughts about God that are unworthy about Him, then we are in fear or in danger of making those idols. If we aren't careful, it's those things we start to worship and trust in instead of God. He's also not bound up, as I mentioned, in jewelry or books. or pictures, or buildings, or denominations, or points of theology, no matter how God-exalting they are, don't let our focus and our faith turn to those instead of God Himself. God's not satisfied with ritual, but with heartfelt worship of Him alone. As one who does not trust in Christ as Savior, don't ignore warnings like Judah did. really see how silly and fleeting and full of vanity these gods are. There's no trust to be placed in them because they will always fail you. Do not turn to some man-made-up item, or don't turn to some man-made-up item, but instead turn to the eternal God who made everything. And as a church, let us see the power of God and let us worship Him every day in spirit and truth. Let us also As Jeremiah gave us an example, let us have breaking hearts for those around us, the lost around us. Let us pray for them. No matter what may come at us, no matter what persecution may come at us, no matter how they respond to us, let us pray for them just as Jeremiah prayed for the nation of Judah around him. I hope you guys have enjoyed this message really, this sermon. I know it's been four chapters and we've kind of broken it off into a couple of weeks and I hope everybody's retained a little bit. I've gotten a lot out of it. I hope you guys have seen this is not just a, again, as I mentioned to begin with, not just a Judah thing, not just something that they struggle with. There's tons in this that we struggle with ourselves that we can learn from and I hope we've taken those lessons to heart and we make changes in our own lives based on these lessons. Everybody stand with me.